I prefer these masteries for the following reasons: Since Akali is an assassin she needs to get as much burst off as she can in the shortest time possible so the 27 points in the offense tree helps her do so. The 3 points in the utility tree help her get around and roam more quickly because it is essential to being an assassin. I would probably put the points in the defense tree but the ms stats are more useful than the stats the defense tree provides.

Summoner Sets

Flash & Ignite

Always take flash. It is the best summoner in the game no exceptions. Especially as an assassin it helps Akali get around very quickly and make those amazing plays as well as escaping sticky situations. Ignite helps you finish off enemies and get you those extra kills. Ignite is the 2nd best summoner in the game.

Item Builds

Makes it impossible for enemies to get away from you once you land your first q. It gives health and a good amount of AP. Once you get this nobody will want to fuck with a tanky Akali

Amazing Item on Akali. Fits perfectly with her passive and dat spellvamp OP. Gives a good amount of AP. Remember to use the active during fights and skirmishes

Magic Pen. Good Item

Massive Amounts of AP. Once you get this item you will be dealing a shit ton of damage

Works perfectly considering Akali is melee. The passive will increase your damage output by an insane amount and you will be practically one shotting squishies.

This is not a popular item on Akali. I think it is actually a great item. Although it doesn't give you a lot of AP it gives you even more spellvamp to go along with your passive and which allows you to sustain like crazy

Good if you are going up against a mid who has high magic damage output

Really bad buy on Akali. Don't get this ever

If you are snowballing and want to go ham on the roaming to get kills and help out the other lanes then get these

Good Late Game Item. The Active greatly increases your damage output

This is a meh item. Works well with passive. Would not recommend it as a part of any build though

You already have a lot of health from and the passive is kind of useless on Akali

If you are getting focused and you need to get tankier then this is the item for you

Good item if you are getting focused a lot in teamfights. Very good defensive stats as well

I can see this item sort of working. Since you aren't jungling there would be a lot of wasted stats if you bought this item

Great Item if the enemy is stacking a lot of MR

Gives a lot of AP and allows you to not get focused down immediately and do nothing for your team

Skill Order

Skills

Twin Disciplines

This is one of the best passives in the game. You get free sustain in lane. Very few characters have this which gives Akali a big advantage early game. You also get bonus AD so in addition to already doing a shit ton of damage with your spells you also do a decent amount of damage with your auto attacks.

Mark of the Assassin

This is your main source of damage. Early Game you can use it to farm if you are being zoned. If you use it on the enemy laner always make sure to at least try to proc it unless you will take more damage than you do to the enemy laner. Since you start out with so much AP from runes and masteries this ability will be doing a shit ton of magic damage early game

Twilight Shroud

This is a great spell. It prevents the enemy from focusing you down after you have come into the teamfight and lets you avoid a lot of CC. Since the vision changes vision wards have become weaker and used less frequently in games and oracles has been removed making this ability even stronger. On top of that the shroud even gives you resistances while you are inside it. Don't forget that it turns the screen a slightly different color which makes you even more OP

Crescent Slash

This isn't an amazing ability. Late Game it does decent amounts of damage but it is usually used to proc and

Shadow Dance

This is one of the best Ultimates in the Game. Once you hit 6 as Akali and get a few stacks on your Ult if you can get within range of a then it's basically over for them. Late Game this ability lets you stick to the ADC or other high priority target very well. If we take someone like for example when he uses his combo and ult if he doesn't finish off his target he can be easily kited and killed whereas Akali doesn't have this problem because of this OP gapcloser.

Did I forget to mention that you get an extra stack every time you get a kill or an assist?

Introduction

Hey Guys my name is Arkara73. Akali is my 3rd most played champ in ranked currently and I have about a 64% winrate with her. She is very fun and VERY good. She is easily one of the best assassins in the game right now. She isn't too hard to learn and once you get the hang of her you will be destroying in every single one of your games. I hope this guide helps you learn how to play Akali well.

Why Play Akali?

There are numerous reasons as to why you should play Akali. After all of the recent assassin nerfs she was one of them that did not get hit by them (RIP Zed). She is still very viable despite the past nerfs to her due to Bronze QQ. She is incredibly mobile (one of them most mobile of all the assassins) and is really good at sticking to her target and killing them quickly. She is also really fun and probably my favorite out of all the assassins.

Pros/Cons

-Great Sustain in Lane
-Great at sticking to targets due to
-Very High Burst (One of the Highest out of all the assassins)
- Most Mobile Assassin
-Has Stealth
-Hits a HUGE power spike at level 6
- Really Great at Roaming
-Really Fun
-Hottest Champion in the Game (Dat Nurse Akali Skin)

-CC really hurts her
-Squishy
-Good Focus can really screw her over
-Terrible pre 6
-Can be easily bullied out of lane
-Items she buys are generally very expensive
-Really hard to make a comeback

Early Game

Early Game what you want to do is just sit back and farm especially when you are up against ranged champions. Whenever you get the chance get up close to them and proc a quick q. If you get them low enough after doing this multiple times you will be able to zone them ezpz. If you go up against someone who is also melee then that is just fantastic. If they want to do damage to you what do they have to do? Get up right next to you. What can you do when they do this? Proc your Q for tons of damage. You will almost always win trades by doing this.

The Items I like to start out with are and . With these 2 items you get a total of 61 AP. That is nothing to laugh at. That damage you can do Early Game with this is just ridiculous. I rush and then go straight to usually getting first

Once you hit 6 wait for a few stacks on and then start harassing them. Go in for the kill if you think you can. If you are going to tower dive make sure that some enemy minions are in front of the enemy turret so when you kill them you have an easy escape

Mid Game

This is where you want to start roaming and helping out other lanes. If you have done well early game you should have picked up a few kills by now. Bursting down and killing the ADC and support should not be too hard with the help of your ADC and support. From there on get fed and snowball to victory. By Mid Game you should have completed and and you should have started working on . If you are farther ahead then that then you are doing great.

Late Game and Teamfights

Late Game is where Akali starts to shine. By Now you should have and . Bursting down squishies will be pathetically easy now. You probably won't even need any help at all from your teammates to high priority targets.

For Teamfights you want your tank to initiate and wait until they enemy team has used most of their CC on him or her. That is when you go in on the ADC. After you get to them you should immediately use so you don't get focused down immediately and die. While you are in wait for your cooldowns and then attack the ADC again. By the 2nd rotation he or she should be dead. So basically what you need to do is:
1) Wait for CC to be used on tank
2) Go for the ADC and use right after
3) Wait for cooldowns and then assassinate the ADC and then move on to another high priority target

Wombo Combo

The Standard Combo is wait for cooldowns and then repeat. Now what you want to do is use on the enemy and then wait for to come off cooldown before to them. That way when you to them you will proc your and then already have another one ready to go. Obviously Late Game and during Teamfights it will be very difficult to do this so by that time it won't really matter.

Champion Matchups

Ahri

Difficulty

Favors You

All you really have to do is dodge her skillshots. The Nerfs made her laning phase weaker so she shouldn't be a problem. Farm up and wait until you are 6 to start destroying her. If she initiates on you just throw down your shroud and mitigate most of her damage. Since she is an assassin she is also really squishy which makes it easy to kill her. You shouldn't need too much help from your jungler.

Anivia

Difficulty

Favors You

I don't know how to feel about Anivia. I almost never see them so it's really hard to tell. From my experience she is really annoying because of her passive and if she stuns you she can do a ton of damage. Basically if you can dodge her iceball you will be fine. If you can't then have fun having half of your health chunked. Be careful when tower diving her because her passive takes a long time to kill and she just has to sit back and relax while the tower does all of the work.

Annie

Difficulty

Favors Enemy

Annie is a really hard matchup for you. She has a stun she can hold onto forever while doing a massive amount of damage. Once you hit 6 it is hard to do any damage to her because of her stun and her really high burst. To win this matchup you must rely on your jungler to come and help you. It is just really hard to win trades with her stun and burst especially after 6.

Brand

Difficulty

Favors You

Brand is somewhat a challenge. He can really harass you early on because of the range on his spells. If you can avoid his skillshots then you will be fine. When you do your combo you need to use your shroud right away because if you don't he will stun you and you will most likely die. If you see him fail his stun after you are 6 that is the perfect moment to go in on him because it will be on cooldown. Jungler won't need to help that much to win this lane.

Cassiopeia

Difficulty

Favors You

Cass is basically a free win for you. Unless you are going up against like Faker or something then it is really easy to dodge her skillshots and since she has no form of escape except for flash (if she takes it) it makes it really easy to stick to her and kill her. If you engage her since she has no escapes she might be forced to use her ult further weakening herself. You definitely won't need your jungler to help you with this one.

Ezreal

Difficulty

Favors You

AP Ezreal is terrible early game. His poke does almost no damage and his main source of damage comes from his w which has pathetic range. Do what you do like always and wait until 6. You counter him like shit because if he tries to flash or away you already have another charge to catch up to him. He is really easy to deal with and should be an instawin

Fizz

Difficulty

Favors You

Fizz is melee so he needs to get into melee range to do any damage to you at all. When he does proc your and you have basically won the trade. If he tries to use you still have another charge to screw him over. You should be able to win very easily without much jungler help. If he initiates then use your shroud to mitigate basically all of his damage. If he tags you with then use your shroud so you only take damage from and nothing else

Gragas

Difficulty

Favors You

Another melee. He can get really tanky and his regen is really annoying. He has really good poke and can screw you over if you can't avoid his skillshots. Once you hit 6 you should be fine. If he initiates with he has no escape and it's basically a free kill for you. Jungler help may be needed for him but you should be fine

Heimerdinger

Difficulty

Favors Enemy

Heimerdinger is basically an autowin in lane. He can have 3 turrets down and once and his burst is actually really high. If you engage his turrets will rape you. All he has to do is run around his turrets like an idiot and he will kill you. This just turns into a farming lane. Do not have your jungler gank because he will most likely kill you both. Just sit back and farm. Try to push up your lane as far as you can and then roam for kills.

Karthus

Difficulty

Favors You

His early game is really weak. He can get really tanky and if you don't dodge his he can do a lot of damage and zone you out. His costs a shit ton of mana so if he tries to use it to hurt you he will run oom very quickly. You will probably need a jungle gank to get an early kill but after you should be fine. It's all about dodging . If you can do that you will win lane easily. Lastly, watch out for his passive . Once you kill him get out of there quickly because he can still damage you during it.

Kassadin

Difficulty

Favors Enemy

This guy is an OP Anti Mage. His passive takes care of most of your damage and once he hits 6 he is almost impossible to gank. you should be able to kill him when you hit 6 but his ult makes him really hard to kill since he can use it to get back to his turret so easily. Can't really give you much advice considering how OP he is right now. This will probably turn into a farming lane. The probability of killing him and snowballing is very low.

Katarina

Difficulty

Favors You

She has a lot of poke pre 6 and can easily zone you out if she is smart. A smart thing to do is once you hit since you use your combo and if she decides to Ult (she probably will) just walk away and then go back in for another rotation when it's over. While she's ulting you want to hit her with a q so a second one is up and ready when her ult is over. She shouldn't be too hard to beat but ganking her is hard because she can teleport back to her minions and get away easily

Leblanc

Difficulty

Favors Enemy

e game. Once she hits 3 she will be raping you with her combos. Her silence screws you over and she can escape very easily with her Your chances of winning the lane are very low considering how hard it is to avoid her combo. It is impossible to farm against her. If you see her use on you then shroud immediately so she can't get free damage on you without taking any herself.

Lux

Difficulty

Favors You

Easy win for you. Avoid her and and she does no damage to you at all. Her moves very slowly so dodging it shouldn't be very hard. Her on the other hand is a little harder to dodge but not impossible. She is very squishy and really easy to burst down once you hit 6. If you are smart you should have no problems as all against her.

Malzahar

Difficulty

Favors Enemy

He can push like a mofo and do a shit ton of damage to you at the same time. You will definitely need an early gank if you want to have any chance at all of winning the lane. If you get caught in his ult you are most likely dead. If you find yourself in this position you probably won't escape so you might as well attack him. Your spellvamp will allow you to sustain against him and if you are ahead enough you may be able to kill him. Try to fight him when his ult is down and you will win everytime.

Mordekaiser

Difficulty

Favors Enemy

Gets really tanky. His shield makes poking him impossible. He can push like a mofo making you farm under tower. His poke is OP. The only chance you have of beating him is if you get a really early gank. Ask your jungler to camp mid so he can't get ahead and help you snowball and make it easier to kill him once you hit 6.

Nidalee

Difficulty

Favors You

Avoid her spears. That's about it. Her escape is terrible considering your Ult makes it so easy to catch up. The only chance she has of beating you is if she can land her spears and push you out of lane early. Otherwise it should be a really easy win for you.

Orianna

Difficulty

Favors Enemy

She has a lot of poke and her shield makes it hard to burst her down or do damage to her. Farm Farm Farm Farm Farm. Ask for a lot of jungle ganks to get ahead. Dodge her skillshots and you should be fine. Nera the end of laning phase you should be able to kill her easily. Through most of the laning phase though she will have the upper hand unless you snowball from jungle ganks.

Pantheon

Difficulty

Favors Enemy

You will never win this matchup. He is worse than Kass. His is probably the best AD Mid Laner in the game. He has arguably the strongest early game in the whole game, even better than LB. If he stuns you then use your shroud to mitigate at least some of his damage. Sit back and farm. Try not to let him get free poke on you. It's really hard not too though. Can't really give you any other advice. Good Luck.

Swain

Difficulty

Favors You

If he gets within range of you early game you will be doing a lot of damage to him. Once he gets his Ult though his sustain is freakin ridiculous. If you go all in with him make sure to ignite him right at the start so he doesn't just heal up all of your damage. Once you hit 6 if he uses his snare and you avoid it that is the perfect time to go in and get some free damage off or even kill him.

Veigar

Difficulty

Favors You

Really easy to harass our of lane. You should have no problem with this matchup. He can do a lot of damage with his abilities and his stun really screws you over. Once you hit 6 he is really easy to kill. Try waiting for him to use his stun before initiating. Late Game he will rape you in the ass. In teamfights you want to go for him first and then shroud immediately so he can't use his ult and instantly kill you. Wait for him to use it on someone else and then kill him.

Ziggs

Difficulty

Favors Enemy

Has a ton of poke. He makes it really hard to farm. I have played a ton of matchups against him and if you can avoid his skillshots then it makes it really easy to farm. His ult is really easy to dodge and when you hit 6 he isn't really that hard to kill. If he can get a lot of poke on you early on (which isn't too hard with Ziggs) then you will get zoned out or bullied out of lane which gives him an incredible upper hand on you making your life living hell in lane. You will probably have to roam for kills if you want to get ahead at all.

Zyra

Difficulty

Favors You

Really easy matchup. Avoid her snare and when she ults just ult to her and she will do no damage to you at all. If she blows her snare and ult then it's basically over for her. Her harass sucks and she does almost no damage early game. When you hit 6 the lane is basically an instawin for you. You will make her cry and rage quit.

Conclusion

Well that's my Akali Guide. I'm still trying to figure this weird new setup for the website so I am sorry if it is a little disorganized and confusing. I hope this guide has helped you and once you get the hang of Akali you should be winning most if not all of your lanes. Comments are appreciated and anything you have about how the actual guide was and what I could do to improve my future guides would be great. She is really really good in solo Q and I am using her to climb up the ladder with much success. Good Luck and Have Fun making your opponents cry their ass off. Thank you for reading my guide and good luck.